Union chiefs had understood it was 12 being lost at the Wrexham plant, but yesterday the company confirmed it was more.

A JCB spokesman said: “JCB Transmissions has briefed its workforce on the need for a further 17 staff and shopfloor redundancies as a result of the failure of global construction equipment markets to improve.”

It brings the total to nearly 240 jobs axed at the Wrexham plant which manufactures transmissions for JCB diggers.